H.264 codec is considered a current de facto standard for videos uploaded on the web - see if the program has it on the list.įinally, check software limitations in advance. As a creator, you should be able to save your project in formats supported by YouTube: .MOV, .MPEG4, MP4, .AVI, .WMV, .MPEGPS, .FLV, 3GPP or WebM. Will you benefit from numerous visual effects or avoid them entirely? Are you planning to use screen capture or chrome key? Will your videos need color correction or voice over? Don’t be misled by an endless list of features - they might all be useless if the right one isn’t there. What you might not want is to be forced to convert your videos to the required format each time before editing, so make sure your videos can be effortlessly opened in the chosen program. You might use a professional camera or you might decide to shoot videos with an iPhone and a selfie stick - that’s your choice. Whether you stick to the list below or decide to continue searching on your own, we recommend you to keep the following characteristics in mind.įirst, supported formats. Each program has something special to offer, so you need to figure out whether that something helps achieve your goals. Here’s a piece of advice: When choosing video editing software, don’t look for the best one - look for the right one. And that is what a new YouTube creator should be looking for. Indeed, there are dozens of free video editing programs with feature sets so advanced that they leave the expensive ones far behind. Some tend to think that a well-known brand or high price guarantee the best results, but that’s not exactly so. Choosing video editing software can be challenging, and most creators will agree with that.